Bays net more sharks

Rising interest, stricter fishing regulations cited

Todd Yates/Caller-Times
Mark Fisher, science director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Rockport Marine Laboratory, talks about how the local lab uses gill nets to catch sharks in Aransas and Corpus Christi bays during the spring and fall.

Researchers are catching more sharks in Texas bays than they did two decades ago, which could reflect a rise in the area's overall shark population.

But Mark R. Fisher, science director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Rockport Marine Laboratory, said people don't have to worry about a dramatic jump in shark numbers -- or their safety.

"The shark population is very fluid because they move in and out of the bays," Fisher said. "They take a long time to reach maturity and to produce young, so you'll never see an explosion of sharks."

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Coastal Fisheries biologists conduct two gill net surveys a year to monitor fish populations in Texas bays.

Statewide, 594 sharks were caught in 2006 compared with 428 sharks in 1982, the year researchers began setting an equal number of nets in each bay to better compare catch rates.

Nine field stations along the coast set gill nets overnight in the spring and fall at random locations in each bay to gather data on catch rates, lengths and distribution of fish each year. The fish are released back into bays.

Data collected from the survey is not meant to calculate the entire shark population in Texas bays but provides a snapshot of the rise and fall of fish populations.

To catch a variety of fish species and sizes, the department uses 600-foot gill nets set perpendicular to shorelines. The mesh size of these nets ranges from 3 to 6 inches and is capable of trapping young pup sharks to fish that measure nearly 6 feet in length.

"It's a variety, but most are immature sharks," Fisher said. "Many fish species use our bays as nurseries because it's a good environment and there's a lot of food."

Of the more than 11,000 sharks found in Texas bays since this resource monitoring program began in 1975, state biologists have recorded 15 shark species caught in their gill nets. The three most commonly caught statewide are bull sharks, blacktips and bonnetheads.

"We've seen more bull sharks than anything else in the bays," Fisher said, adding that this spring's findings have not yet been compiled.

More than 6,000 bull sharks, one of the more aggressive species, have been caught and released statewide as part of the ongoing study.

In general, sharks do not attack humans and there have been no fatal attacks in Texas bays, Fisher said. It's more of a concern for wade fisherman in the bays than recreational swimmers at area beaches because wade fisherman are closer to the sharks.

Bull sharks, which can grow to about 11 feet and weigh as much as 700 pounds, are known as one of the few wide-ranging sharks that travel far into freshwater and are able to survive in tropical lakes and rivers.

"They're famous in their ability to handle freshwater. Low salinity levels don't bother them like it does other species," Fisher said.

Alan Beck, a U.S. Coast Guard licensed master captain who has run the I Gotta Fish Guide Service in Rockport for the past eight years, said he has noticed a rise in the bays' shark population in recent years.

"Before, you could go two or three days without catching one," Beck said. "Now we could do it just about every day if we wanted to and catch something. They're a lot bigger sharks, too."

In May, fishermen Randy Rickerson snagged the Texas state record for bull sharks when he caught a 9-foot, 515-pound shark in Aransas Bay. The previous state record was 508 pounds.

Beck credits a statewide ban on commercial gill net fishing in 1988 and new minimum-size regulations on recreational catches as contributing to the greater number of sharks. Although sharks never have been widely targeted commercially, they often would inadvertently become caught in gill nets set to snare other fish such as trout, drum and redfish.

Before the late 1980s, there also was no limit on the number of sharks fishermen could keep. In 2000, state regulations changed to further protect sharks by lowering the number of sharks anglers could keep each day from five to one. Any shark caught that is smaller than 24 inches also must be released.

Larry Robinson, another local fishing guide, said he hasn't necessarily seen more sharks in local bays but rather more fishermen with a growing interest in catching the sea creatures.

"It's just like when (the movie) 'Jaws' came out," said Robinson, a licensed master captain with Shallow Water Guide Service. "People are more interested, and everybody wants to have their picture taken with them."

Outdoors writer David Sikes contributed to this report. Contact Mary Ann Cavazos at 886-3623 or cavazosm@caller.com